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Just had a glance at HPcalc.org, and noticed that specifications for a new calculator, the HP49G+ are up. There's been talk that HP is releasing a new super calc, and this seems to be it.

It has a 75mhz ARM processor, SD card storage, IRDA, an improved keyboard and screen and several other HP features, such as RPN

Naturally, these specs are not set in stone, but it seems legit (check out This PDF file!) This calculator seems to be the TI-killer that HP supporters have been waiting for.

Just had a glance at HPcalc.org, and noticed that specifications for a new calculator, the HP49G+ are up. There's been talk that HP is releasing a new super calc, and this seems to be it.

It has a 75mhz ARM processor, SD card storage, IRDA, an improved keyboard and screen and several other HP features, such as RPN

Naturally, these specs are not set in stone, but it seems legit (check out This PDF file!) This calculator seems to be the TI-killer that HP addicts have been waiting for.

Just had a glance at HPcalc.org, and noticed that specifications for a new calculator, the HP49G+ are up. There's been talk that HP is releasing a new super calc, and this seems to be it.

It has a 75mhz ARM processor, SD card storage, IRDA, an improved keyboard and screen and several other HP features, such as RPN

Naturally, these specs are not set in stone, but it seems legit (check out This PDF file!) This calculator seems to be the TI-killer that HP addicts have been waiting for.

Just had a glance at HPcalc.org, and noticed that specifications for a new calculator, the HP49G+ are up. There's been talk that HP is releasing a new super calc, and this seems to be it.

It has a 75mhz ARM processor, SD card storage, IRDA, an improved keyboard and screen and several other HP features, such as RPN

Naturally, these specs are not set in stone, but it seems legit (check out This PDF file!) This calculator seems to be the TI-killer that HP addicts have been waiting for.

Here's how I remember my mindset as a "little coder" playing with Apple IIs, Atari 800s, etc.: What novelty can I coax out of this 8-bit machine? I see my "little coder" peers do stuff with their computers that make me say, "wow, that's neat! Show me how you did that!" What can I code that'll make my peers say the same about my work? (That motivated me to write a small turn-based wargame on a 40x24 text-screen.)

The mindset was the same when I became a "not-as-little coder" with an HP48 graphing calculator for Calculus class: What novel use can I coax out of this 4-bit machine? I see my classmates do things with their calculators that make me say, "wow, that's neat! Show me how you did that!" How can I get the same reaction from them? (That motivated me to write "simulate two sound pitches out of one speaker" code in 4-bit Saturn assembler, so that my calculator could sing a Christmas carol in two-part harmony.)

Unfortunately, my mindset is considered threatening by software and hardware vendors. I find a way to make their product do things that the designers and engineers never intended or even dreamed of. In people like me, that mindset is called creativity, but for a few, it's instead called vandalism. Viruses and similar horrors are unleashed, for no other reason than the desire to hear or imagine a peer saying "Wow, show me how you did that!" Then the big vendor is publically scorned as a company that makes insecure products, instead of heralded as a company that fosters creativity in their customers. The "big vendors" predicament is the complement of the "little coder's" predicament. The bad apples motivate an electronic gadget or software company to:

• "lock down" their products, make them only minimally customizable, or
• raise the barrier to entry for "little coders" by omitting, hiding, or underdocumenting the scripting or programming tools in their products.

You see, end-user creativity and freedom to tinker are security risks.

The KEYSTROKES save YOU!

figure out someone simply ported the old HP48 Tricorder program to the PDAs and cell phones.

Well, it seems very likely to me that HP has nothing to do with this. HP calculator emulators are a very popular thing to make. There are emulators for pretty much anything on which you want to emulate an HP calculator (and some you probably don't).

It's perfectly legal to make an HP calculator emulator, by emulating the processor inside, but you can't distribute the essential ROM images that make 'em work. At least, that's how it was, last time I checked. If you have your own HP calculator, though, you can dump the ROM for your own use, with no other restrictions (again, as far as I remember).

PC HP calc emus:

http://www.hpcalc.org/hp48/pc/emulators/

Or check out all the other emu goodies at that site:

http://www.hpcalc.org/hp48/

Or just search http://www.handango.com for "HP 48" for more emus for all portable computing platforms.

PC HP calc emus:

http://www.hpcalc.org/hp48/pc/emulators/

Or check out all the other emu goodies at that site:

http://www.hpcalc.org/hp48/

Or just search http://www.handango.com for "HP 48" for more emus for all portable computing platforms.

This is cool, but it's not new. There has been a HP 48/49G emulator for Windows CE for some time now. It even runs at an acceptable speed on the newer Pocket PCs. There has also been a Psion version.

ht tp://www.hpcalc.org/hp48/pc/emulators/</a>

There's a plethora of HP emulators for all OS's. http://www.hpcalc.org/hp48/pc/emulators/

It is official; HP confirms: Algerbraic is dying

One more crippling bombshell hit the already beleaguered Algerbraic community when HP confirmed that Algerbraic calculator usage has dropped yet again, now down to less than a fraction of 1 percent of all professionals. Coming on the heels of a recent hpcalc.org survey which plainly states that algerbraic notation has lost more market share, this news serves to reinforce what we've known all along. Algerbraic is collapsing in complete disarray, as fittingly exemplified by failing dead last in the recent HPcalc.org speed trials.

You don't need to be a Kreskin to predict alberbraic's future. The hand writing is on the wall: Algerbraic faces a bleak future. In fact there won't be any future at all for algerbraic because it is dying. Things are looking very bad for algerbraic. As many of us are already aware, it continues to lose market share. Red ink flows like a river of blood.

TI's algerbraic calculator development team is the most endangered of them all, having lost 93% of its core engineers. The sudden and unpleasant departures of long time algerbraic's developers Casio and Sharp only serve to underscore the point more clearly. There can no longer be any doubt: Algerbraic is dying.

Let's keep to the facts and look at the numbers.

RPN supporter Jean-Yves Avenard states that there are 70000 propfessional users of calculators. How many users of algerbraic are there? Let's see. The number of RPN versus algerbraic posts on comp.sys.hp48 is roughly in ratio of 500 to 1. Therefore there are about 70000/500 = 14 algerbraic users. Sharp DAL (Direct Algerbraic logic) posts on Usenet are about half of the volume of plain algerbraic posts. Therefore there are about 7 users of DAL. A recent article put DAL at about 50 percent of the algerbraic market. This is consistent with the number of DAL Usenet posts.

Due to the troubles of mismatched brackers, excessive keystrokes and so on, algerbraic went out of favor with TI and was taken over by Casio who sell another troubled calculator. Now Casio is also dead, its corpse turned over to cheap chinese calculator manufactures.

All major surveys show that alg has steadily declined in market share. Algerbraic is very sick and its long term survival prospects are very dim. If Algerbraic is to survive at all it will be among vintage calcululator collectors. Algerbraic continues to decay. Nothing short of a miracle could save it at this point in time. For all practical purposes, Algerbraic is dead.

Fact: Algerbraic is dying

it's quite funny - 12+ posts, and he this 'Anonymous Coward' guy doesn't have a clue. He hasn't even said what he's argueing against. I bring up some of his bullshit and he ignores it.

Things the TI bot was wrong about
*Number of keystrokes needed (see his first reply)
*Laplace transformers are table lookups
*RPN has no benefits (see: half assed implementation)

There are others, but I can;t be stuffed getting them. for shits and giggles, here are some essays I wrote on the matter

-----For an example:

( (2+4)^(4+(2^5)/(2*10^3)) )/(4^ (4!))

Alg - 35 keystrokes plus lots of chances to screw up with brackets

vs (e = enter)

2e4+ (6 on stack) 2e5^(6, 2^5 on stack) 2E3e/ (6, ((2^5) /2000) on stack) 4+ ^ (6^204 on stack)
4e4!^ (6^204, 4, 4! on stack) ^ (6^204, 4^4! on stack) / (answer on stack)

22 keys used. I found that no harder to do then algerbraic - and I bet if you had to do that bu hand use use a similair process. It looks cryptic as hell written down like this, but I bet if you spent 15 mins playing with the HP emulator

Common RPN misconceptions

I already know algerbraic. Why should I bother learning a new system?

Because RPN has many advantages. It's quicker, requires less keystrokes and you no longer have to match brackets

But RPN is a pain in the neck!

No. Most RPN users agree that RPN is easier then algerbraic. For instance:

2* (4 + 7) =

is:

4 Enter 7 + 2 *

What's going on here? you are using a stack. Typing 4 then enter puts 4 on the stack. typing 7 + adds 7 to the stack. 2 * multiplies the result by 2. Not only is it easy, but you have saved 2 keystrokes already. now, let's take the square root of the answer:

ALG: sqr ans = 3 keystrokes
RPN: sqr 1 keystroke
Easy!
So, RPN is faster? Why?

Well, 2 reasons. Firstly it takes less keystrokes. Secondly, you no longer have to match brackets. This saves a lot of time
Why would I bother? RPN is as dead as *BSD
No, There Is A New Hope (TM)! HP is reviving their calculator line! Check out comp.sys.hp48 for details or check out this Press Release
hang on, if I make a typo I lose my work!
No. You have an 'undo' key
But I can't see my working!
yes you can. The HP4x series of calculators show full symbolic working

--
It is official; HP confirms: Algerbraic is dying

One more crippling bombshell hit the already beleaguered Algerbraic community when HP confirmed that Algerbraic calculator usage has dropped yet again, now down to less than a fraction of 1 percent of all professionals. Coming on the heels of a recent hpcalc.org survey which plainly states that algerbraic notation has lost more market share, this news serves to reinforce what we've known all along. Algerbraic is collapsing in complete disarray, as fittingly exemplified by failing dead last in the recent HPcalc.org speed trials.

You don't need to be a Kreskin to predict alberbraic's future. The hand writing is on the wall: Algerbraic faces a bleak future. In fact there won't be any future at all for algerbraic because it is dying. Things are looking very bad for algerbraic. As many of us are already aware, it continues to lose market share. Red ink flows like a river of blood.

TI's algerbraic calculator development team is the most endangered of them all, having lost 93% of its core engineers. The sudden and unpleasant departures of long time algerbraic's developers Casio and Sharp only serve to underscore the point more clearly. There can no longer be any doubt: Algerbraic is dying.

Let's keep to the facts and look at the numbers.

RPN supporter Jean-Yves Avenard states that there are 70000 propfessional users of calculators. How many users of algerbraic are there? Let's see. The number of RPN versus algerbraic posts on comp.sys.hp48 is roughly in ratio of 500 to 1. Therefore there are about 70000/500 = 14 algerbraic users. Sharp DAL (Direct Algerbraic logic) posts on Usenet are about half of the volume of plain algerbraic posts. Therefore there are about 7 users of DAL. A recent article put DAL at about 50 percent of the algerbraic market. This is consistent with the number of DAL Usenet posts.

Due to the troubles of mismatched brackers, excessive keystrokes and so on, algerbraic went out of favor with TI and was taken over by Casio who sell another troubled calculator. Now Casio is also dead, its corpse turned over to cheap chinese calculator manufactures.

All major surveys show that alg has steadily declined in market share. Algerbraic is very sick and its long term survival prospects are very dim. If Algerbraic is to survive at all it will be among vintage calcululator collectors. Algerbraic continues to decay. Nothing short of a miracle could save it at this point in time. For all practical purposes, Algerbraic is dead.

Fact: Algerbraic is dying

it's quite funny - 12+ posts, and he this 'Anonymous Coward' guy doesn't have a clue. He hasn't even said what he's argueing against. I bring up some of his bullshit and he ignores it.

Things the TI bot was wrong about
*Number of keystrokes needed (see his first reply)
*Laplace transformers are table lookups
*RPN has no benefits (see: half assed implementation)

There are others, but I can;t be stuffed getting them. for shits and giggles, here are some essays I wrote on the matter

-----For an example:

( (2+4)^(4+(2^5)/(2*10^3)) )/(4^ (4!))

Alg - 35 keystrokes plus lots of chances to screw up with brackets

vs (e = enter)

2e4+ (6 on stack) 2e5^(6, 2^5 on stack) 2E3e/ (6, ((2^5) /2000) on stack) 4+ ^ (6^204 on stack)
4e4!^ (6^204, 4, 4! on stack) ^ (6^204, 4^4! on stack) / (answer on stack)

22 keys used. I found that no harder to do then algerbraic - and I bet if you had to do that bu hand use use a similair process. It looks cryptic as hell written down like this, but I bet if you spent 15 mins playing with the HP emulator

Common RPN misconceptions

I already know algerbraic. Why should I bother learning a new system?

Because RPN has many advantages. It's quicker, requires less keystrokes and you no longer have to match brackets

But RPN is a pain in the neck!

No. Most RPN users agree that RPN is easier then algerbraic. For instance:

2* (4 + 7) =

is:

4 Enter 7 + 2 *

What's going on here? you are using a stack. Typing 4 then enter puts 4 on the stack. typing 7 + adds 7 to the stack. 2 * multiplies the result by 2. Not only is it easy, but you have saved 2 keystrokes already. now, let's take the square root of the answer:

ALG: sqr ans = 3 keystrokes
RPN: sqr 1 keystroke
Easy!
So, RPN is faster? Why?

Well, 2 reasons. Firstly it takes less keystrokes. Secondly, you no longer have to match brackets. This saves a lot of time
Why would I bother? RPN is as dead as *BSD
No, There Is A New Hope (TM)! HP is reviving their calculator line! Check out comp.sys.hp48 for details or check out this Press Release
hang on, if I make a typo I lose my work!
No. You have an 'undo' key
But I can't see my working!
yes you can. The HP4x series of calculators show full symbolic working

--
It is official; HP confirms: Algerbraic is dying

One more crippling bombshell hit the already beleaguered Algerbraic community when HP confirmed that Algerbraic calculator usage has dropped yet again, now down to less than a fraction of 1 percent of all professionals. Coming on the heels of a recent hpcalc.org survey which plainly states that algerbraic notation has lost more market share, this news serves to reinforce what we've known all along. Algerbraic is collapsing in complete disarray, as fittingly exemplified by failing dead last in the recent HPcalc.org speed trials.

You don't need to be a Kreskin to predict alberbraic's future. The hand writing is on the wall: Algerbraic faces a bleak future. In fact there won't be any future at all for algerbraic because it is dying. Things are looking very bad for algerbraic. As many of us are already aware, it continues to lose market share. Red ink flows like a river of blood.

TI's algerbraic calculator development team is the most endangered of them all, having lost 93% of its core engineers. The sudden and unpleasant departures of long time algerbraic's developers Casio and Sharp only serve to underscore the point more clearly. There can no longer be any doubt: Algerbraic is dying.

Let's keep to the facts and look at the numbers.

RPN supporter Jean-Yves Avenard states that there are 70000 propfessional users of calculators. How many users of algerbraic are there? Let's see. The number of RPN versus algerbraic posts on comp.sys.hp48 is roughly in ratio of 500 to 1. Therefore there are about 70000/500 = 14 algerbraic users. Sharp DAL (Direct Algerbraic logic) posts on Usenet are about half of the volume of plain algerbraic posts. Therefore there are about 7 users of DAL. A recent article put DAL at about 50 percent of the algerbraic market. This is consistent with the number of DAL Usenet posts.

Due to the troubles of mismatched brackers, excessive keystrokes and so on, algerbraic went out of favor with TI and was taken over by Casio who sell another troubled calculator. Now Casio is also dead, its corpse turned over to cheap chinese calculator manufactures.

All major surveys show that alg has steadily declined in market share. Algerbraic is very sick and its long term survival prospects are very dim. If Algerbraic is to survive at all it will be among vintage calcululator collectors. Algerbraic continues to decay. Nothing short of a miracle could save it at this point in time. For all practical purposes, Algerbraic is dead.

Fact: Algerbraic is dying

It is official; HP confirms: Algerbraic is dying

One more crippling bombshell hit the already beleaguered Algerbraic community when HP confirmed that Algerbraic calculator usage has dropped yet again, now down to less than a fraction of 1 percent of all professionals. Coming on the heels of a recent hpcalc.org survey which plainly states that algerbraic notation has lost more market share, this news serves to reinforce what we've known all along. Algerbraic is collapsing in complete disarray, as fittingly exemplified by failing dead last in the recent HPcalc.org speed trials.

You don't need to be a Kreskin to predict alberbraic's future. The hand writing is on the wall: Algerbraic faces a bleak future. In fact there won't be any future at all for algerbraic because it is dying. Things are looking very bad for algerbraic. As many of us are already aware, it continues to lose market share. Red ink flows like a river of blood.

TI's algerbraic calculator development team is the most endangered of them all, having lost 93% of its core engineers. The sudden and unpleasant departures of long time algerbraic's developers Casio and Sharp only serve to underscore the point more clearly. There can no longer be any doubt: Algerbraic is dying.

Let's keep to the facts and look at the numbers.

RPN supporter Jean-Yves Avenard states that there are 70000 propfessional users of calculators. How many users of algerbraic are there? Let's see. The number of RPN versus algerbraic posts on comp.sys.hp48 is roughly in ratio of 500 to 1. Therefore there are about 70000/500 = 14 algerbraic users. Sharp DAL (Direct Algerbraic logic) posts on Usenet are about half of the volume of plain algerbraic posts. Therefore there are about 7 users of DAL. A recent article put DAL at about 50 percent of the algerbraic market. This is consistent with the number of DAL Usenet posts.

Due to the troubles of mismatched brackers, excessive keystrokes and so on, algerbraic went out of favor with TI and was taken over by Casio who sell another troubled calculator. Now Casio is also dead, its corpse turned over to cheap chinese calculator manufactures.

All major surveys show that alg has steadily declined in market share. Algerbraic is very sick and its long term survival prospects are very dim. If Algerbraic is to survive at all it will be among vintage calcululator collectors. Algerbraic continues to decay. Nothing short of a miracle could save it at this point in time. For all practical purposes, Algerbraic is dead.

Fact: Algerbraic is dying

It is official; HP confirms: Algerbraic is dying

One more crippling bombshell hit the already beleaguered Algerbraic community when HP confirmed that Algerbraic calculator usage has dropped yet again, now down to less than a fraction of 1 percent of all professionals. Coming on the heels of a recent hpcalc.org survey which plainly states that algerbraic notation has lost more market share, this news serves to reinforce what we've known all along. Algerbraic is collapsing in complete disarray, as fittingly exemplified by failing dead last in the recent HPcalc.org speed trials.

You don't need to be a Kreskin to predict alberbraic's future. The hand writing is on the wall: Algerbraic faces a bleak future. In fact there won't be any future at all for algerbraic because it is dying. Things are looking very bad for algerbraic. As many of us are already aware, it continues to lose market share. Red ink flows like a river of blood.

TI's algerbraic calculator development team is the most endangered of them all, having lost 93% of its core engineers. The sudden and unpleasant departures of long time algerbraic's developers Casio and Sharp only serve to underscore the point more clearly. There can no longer be any doubt: Algerbraic is dying.

Let's keep to the facts and look at the numbers.

RPN supporter Jean-Yves Avenard states that there are 70000 propfessional users of calculators. How many users of algerbraic are there? Let's see. The number of RPN versus algerbraic posts on comp.sys.hp48 is roughly in ratio of 500 to 1. Therefore there are about 70000/500 = 14 algerbraic users. Sharp DAL (Direct Algerbraic logic) posts on Usenet are about half of the volume of plain algerbraic posts. Therefore there are about 7 users of DAL. A recent article put DAL at about 50 percent of the algerbraic market. This is consistent with the number of DAL Usenet posts.

Due to the troubles of mismatched brackers, excessive keystrokes and so on, algerbraic went out of favor with TI and was taken over by Casio who sell another troubled calculator. Now Casio is also dead, its corpse turned over to cheap chinese calculator manufactures.

All major surveys show that alg has steadily declined in market share. Algerbraic is very sick and its long term survival prospects are very dim. If Algerbraic is to survive at all it will be among vintage calcululator collectors. Algerbraic continues to decay. Nothing short of a miracle could save it at this point in time. For all practical purposes, Algerbraic is dead.

Fact: Algerbraic is dying

It is official; HP confirms: Algerbraic is dying

One more crippling bombshell hit the already beleaguered Algerbraic community when HP confirmed that Algerbraic calculator usage has dropped yet again, now down to less than a fraction of 1 percent of all professionals. Coming on the heels of a recent hpcalc.org survey which plainly states that algerbraic notation has lost more market share, this news serves to reinforce what we've known all along. Algerbraic is collapsing in complete disarray, as fittingly exemplified by failing dead last in the recent HPcalc.org speed trials.

You don't need to be a Kreskin to predict alberbraic's future. The hand writing is on the wall: Algerbraic faces a bleak future. In fact there won't be any future at all for algerbraic because it is dying. Things are looking very bad for algerbraic. As many of us are already aware, it continues to lose market share. Red ink flows like a river of blood.

TI's algerbraic calculator development team is the most endangered of them all, having lost 93% of its core engineers. The sudden and unpleasant departures of long time algerbraic's developers Casio and Sharp only serve to underscore the point more clearly. There can no longer be any doubt: Algerbraic is dying.

Let's keep to the facts and look at the numbers.

RPN supporter Jean-Yves Avenard states that there are 70000 propfessional users of calculators. How many users of algerbraic are there? Let's see. The number of RPN versus algerbraic posts on comp.sys.hp48 is roughly in ratio of 500 to 1. Therefore there are about 70000/500 = 14 algerbraic users. Sharp DAL (Direct Algerbraic logic) posts on Usenet are about half of the volume of plain algerbraic posts. Therefore there are about 7 users of DAL. A recent article put DAL at about 50 percent of the algerbraic market. This is consistent with the number of DAL Usenet posts.

Due to the troubles of mismatched brackers, excessive keystrokes and so on, algerbraic went out of favor with TI and was taken over by Casio who sell another troubled calculator. Now Casio is also dead, its corpse turned over to cheap chinese calculator manufactures.

All major surveys show that alg has steadily declined in market share. Algerbraic is very sick and its long term survival prospects are very dim. If Algerbraic is to survive at all it will be among vintage calcululator collectors. Algerbraic continues to decay. Nothing short of a miracle could save it at this point in time. For all practical purposes, Algerbraic is dead.

Fact: Algerbraic is dying

It is official; HP confirms: Algerbraic is dying

One more crippling bombshell hit the already beleaguered Algerbraic community when HP confirmed that Algerbraic calculator usage has dropped yet again, now down to less than a fraction of 1 percent of all professionals. Coming on the heels of a recent hpcalc.org survey which plainly states that algerbraic notation has lost more market share, this news serves to reinforce what we've known all along. Algerbraic is collapsing in complete disarray, as fittingly exemplified by failing dead last in the recent HPcalc.org speed trials.

You don't need to be a Kreskin to predict alberbraic's future. The hand writing is on the wall: Algerbraic faces a bleak future. In fact there won't be any future at all for algerbraic because it is dying. Things are looking very bad for algerbraic. As many of us are already aware, it continues to lose market share. Red ink flows like a river of blood.

TI's algerbraic calculator development team is the most endangered of them all, having lost 93% of its core engineers. The sudden and unpleasant departures of long time algerbraic's developers Casio and Sharp only serve to underscore the point more clearly. There can no longer be any doubt: Algerbraic is dying.

Let's keep to the facts and look at the numbers.

RPN supporter Jean-Yves Avenard states that there are 70000 propfessional users of calculators. How many users of algerbraic are there? Let's see. The number of RPN versus algerbraic posts on comp.sys.hp48 is roughly in ratio of 500 to 1. Therefore there are about 70000/500 = 14 algerbraic users. Sharp DAL (Direct Algerbraic logic) posts on Usenet are about half of the volume of plain algerbraic posts. Therefore there are about 7 users of DAL. A recent article put DAL at about 50 percent of the algerbraic market. This is consistent with the number of DAL Usenet posts.

Due to the troubles of mismatched brackers, excessive keystrokes and so on, algerbraic went out of favor with TI and was taken over by Casio who sell another troubled calculator. Now Casio is also dead, its corpse turned over to cheap chinese calculator manufactures.

All major surveys show that alg has steadily declined in market share. Algerbraic is very sick and its long term survival prospects are very dim. If Algerbraic is to survive at all it will be among vintage calcululator collectors. Algerbraic continues to decay. Nothing short of a miracle could save it at this point in time. For all practical purposes, Algerbraic is dead.

Fact: Algerbraic is dying

It is official; HP confirms: Algerbraic is dying

One more crippling bombshell hit the already beleaguered Algerbraic community when HP confirmed that Algerbraic calculator usage has dropped yet again, now down to less than a fraction of 1 percent of all professionals. Coming on the heels of a recent hpcalc.org survey which plainly states that algerbraic notation has lost more market share, this news serves to reinforce what we've known all along. Algerbraic is collapsing in complete disarray, as fittingly exemplified by failing dead last in the recent HPcalc.org speed trials.

You don't need to be a Kreskin to predict alberbraic's future. The hand writing is on the wall: Algerbraic faces a bleak future. In fact there won't be any future at all for algerbraic because it is dying. Things are looking very bad for algerbraic. As many of us are already aware, it continues to lose market share. Red ink flows like a river of blood.

TI's algerbraic calculator development team is the most endangered of them all, having lost 93% of its core engineers. The sudden and unpleasant departures of long time algerbraic's developers Casio and Sharp only serve to underscore the point more clearly. There can no longer be any doubt: Algerbraic is dying.

Let's keep to the facts and look at the numbers.

RPN supporter Jean-Yves Avenard states that there are 70000 propfessional users of calculators. How many users of algerbraic are there? Let's see. The number of RPN versus algerbraic posts on comp.sys.hp48 is roughly in ratio of 500 to 1. Therefore there are about 70000/500 = 14 algerbraic users. Sharp DAL (Direct Algerbraic logic) posts on Usenet are about half of the volume of plain algerbraic posts. Therefore there are about 7 users of DAL. A recent article put DAL at about 50 percent of the algerbraic market. This is consistent with the number of DAL Usenet posts.

Due to the troubles of mismatched brackers, excessive keystrokes and so on, algerbraic went out of favor with TI and was taken over by Casio who sell another troubled calculator. Now Casio is also dead, its corpse turned over to cheap chinese calculator manufactures.

All major surveys show that alg has steadily declined in market share. Algerbraic is very sick and its long term survival prospects are very dim. If Algerbraic is to survive at all it will be among vintage calcululator collectors. Algerbraic continues to decay. Nothing short of a miracle could save it at this point in time. For all practical purposes, Algerbraic is dead.

Fact: Algerbraic is dying

It is official; HP confirms: Algerbraic is dying

One more crippling bombshell hit the already beleaguered Algerbraic community when HP confirmed that Algerbraic calculator usage has dropped yet again, now down to less than a fraction of 1 percent of all professionals. Coming on the heels of a recent hpcalc.org survey which plainly states that algerbraic notation has lost more market share, this news serves to reinforce what we've known all along. Algerbraic is collapsing in complete disarray, as fittingly exemplified by failing dead last in the recent HPcalc.org speed trials.

You don't need to be a Kreskin to predict alberbraic's future. The hand writing is on the wall: Algerbraic faces a bleak future. In fact there won't be any future at all for algerbraic because it is dying. Things are looking very bad for algerbraic. As many of us are already aware, it continues to lose market share. Red ink flows like a river of blood.

TI's algerbraic calculator development team is the most endangered of them all, having lost 93% of its core engineers. The sudden and unpleasant departures of long time algerbraic's developers Casio and Sharp only serve to underscore the point more clearly. There can no longer be any doubt: Algerbraic is dying.

Let's keep to the facts and look at the numbers.

RPN supporter Jean-Yves Avenard states that there are 70000 propfessional users of calculators. How many users of algerbraic are there? Let's see. The number of RPN versus algerbraic posts on comp.sys.hp48 is roughly in ratio of 500 to 1. Therefore there are about 70000/500 = 14 algerbraic users. Sharp DAL (Direct Algerbraic logic) posts on Usenet are about half of the volume of plain algerbraic posts. Therefore there are about 7 users of DAL. A recent article put DAL at about 50 percent of the algerbraic market. This is consistent with the number of DAL Usenet posts.

Due to the troubles of mismatched brackers, excessive keystrokes and so on, algerbraic went out of favor with TI and was taken over by Casio who sell another troubled calculator. Now Casio is also dead, its corpse turned over to cheap chinese calculator manufactures.

All major surveys show that alg has steadily declined in market share. Algerbraic is very sick and its long term survival prospects are very dim. If Algerbraic is to survive at all it will be among vintage calcululator collectors. Algerbraic continues to decay. Nothing short of a miracle could save it at this point in time. For all practical purposes, Algerbraic is dead.

Fact: Algerbraic is dying

I have had my HP 48G set up as a remote for my TV for probably 8 years now. It works, although a little clumsy (in the program I use, you can only use 6 buttons at a time, and scroll up and down using the up and down arrows to switch the definitions of the six keys). You can download IR 'profiles' for many devices, and you can teach your calculator on your own if the profile isn't available for your TV... I understand it's pretty hard on the calculator's batteries though. I've only done it for fun, never as the primary remote for the TV. hpcalc.org is a great source.

I don't believe the HP48 is IRDA compatible, and I don't know what LIRC stands for, but given the forum we're in, I'll guess Linux IR C_____. (Consortium? Community?)

Granted, if you don't have a HP calc on hand, it probably won't be worth the bucks to buy one for this, since it probably won't work anyhow. I was looking on Ebay and bids were between $60 and $100.

I was just on the HPCalc site yesterday, and I was reunited with the goodness of minesweeper on the HP48. There went an hour of work!

Good luck with your project. Stay away from my county when you're trying to type in MP3/OGG names while driving, especially if you try to do it using a HP48!

Lameness filter encountered. Post aborted!
Reason: Your subject looks too much like ascii art.

Lameness filter encountered. Post aborted!
Reason: Please use fewer 'junk' characters.

______--------___________-------|||||||||||\

Lameness filter fooler follows:

Do what you want, as long as you get the right answer.

Exactly. This is getting boring. The last point I'd like to make is that it took me all of 15 mins to get used to RPN. And for a final example:

( (2+4)^(4+(2^5)/(2*10^3)) )/(4^ (4!))

Alg - 35 keystrokes plus lots of chances to screw up with brackets

vs (e = enter)

2e4+ (6 on stack)
2e5^(6, 2^5 on stack)
2E3e/ (6, ((2^5) /2000) on stack)
4+ ^ (6^204 on stack)
4e4!^ (6^204, 4, 4! on stack)
^ (6^204, 4^4! on stack)
/

(answer on stack)

22 keys used. I found that no harder to do then algerbraic - and I bet if you had to do that bu hand use use a similair process. It looks cryptic as hell written down like this, but I bet if you spent 15 mins playing with the HP emulator

to each his own...

Hi,

I'd like to use this space to recommend you buy a HP calculator. Despite what your teachers recommended, HP's are far greater then TI's. Sure, TI's aew a little easier to learn but the HP has far more power. For more information, please check out Hpcalc

Blah - I bet you used HP's at school becuase the teacher/prof/lecturer 'suggested' it after being bribed by TI. Seeing as how you wield an 89 rather then an 83 I'll assume you use it for real work, rather then games. Does the TI89 do laplace transforms? (the HP does - built into rom!) Z transforms? Fast Fourier Transforms?

Can it calculate 5000 factorial? How long does it take? Can it give me a general solution for the integral of xsin(x)? Does it have a constants library built into ROM?

The HP admittantly is slightly lower then the TI because of the low clockspeed, but it kicks the TI's ass in functionality. I means the HP has got 1mb RAM, 2MB flash ROM. How much memory does the TI have?

The TI is easier to use. If you want a calc you can learn in 3 mins that's the one to get. The HP take longer, maybe 15 minutes to learn (hard RPN isn't) if you're not a total moron. RPN rules. Example: Calculate 3 resistors in parallel, 4,5,6 ohms...

TI: 1/(1/4 + 1/5 + 1/6)=
16 keystrokes
HP: 4 * 5 * 6 * + + * where * is the 1 over button
9 keystrokes. Harder to read here, but makes sense when you type it in and can see what's going on.

On a ligher note, here's some cool things that people have built with a HP:

*web / email / telnet etc. client (modem)
*Web Server (Connected to dial up modem)
*Remote Control for TV's and DVD players (HP48G/GX)
*datalogger with ADC circuit
*RC5 code cracker

Have a look Here/a? for more info.

Well, doom has been ported to my graphics calculator

and this site is a good site for buying one

here

www.hpcalc.org has a lot more, look around. i also know for a fact there is a HP 49G emulator too for the CE -- i have it -- but can't find it at the moment. as for TI, i have never really liked them -- (read below) -- but i am sure they are abundant as well.

side note: HP calculators (with RPN (reverse polish notation)) kicks TI's butt in more ways than IE have security holes... use one and be amazed.

Pocket calculator? That's been done already, but I doubt that anyone will offer one up for a slashdotting.

Theyr's Gone. HP dropped the last remnant of their calculator organization on November 9, 2001. Calculator design had jumped around over the years finally ending up at HP's Australian Calculator Organization, the design unit that was killed.

It's not that they weren't making money, either. The group turned a profit. The profit just wasn't big enough for Fiorina to justify keeping around in light of the Compaq merger plans. Shit, now you can't even get parts.

A quick summary of the Saturn microprocessor, for those interested...

The Saturn processor is a propietary HP chip used in many of its calculators. It's generally considered a 4 bit chip (since this is the internal data bus size), but it has four 64-bit registers. I think the coolest part of the chip is that each instruction can operate on various portions of these registers -- for example, only the upper nibble, or only the lowest 4 nibbles. Since this is a calculator, math is generally done in BCD format. Externally, the chip connects using an 8-bit data bus. The address bus width (and therefore the PC, too) is 20 bits wide, and each address refers to a nibble of data. Maximum addressable memory = 1 meganibbles = 512KB. Most of the calculator firmware (such as calculating the sine of a number or matrix manipulation) is interpreted RPL to allow code reuse code (to save time, and to ensure bug-free implementations)

HP did a great job with this calculator, including releasing internal documenation and development tools. More info here, or use google.

It's a shame that HP shut down thier calculator division.

I use the HP48gx emulator x48 as my system calculator. It is excellent, but has been removed from Debian testing! (WTF!?!? WHY!)

http://www.hpcalc.org/hp48/pc/emulators/ HP48 emulators!
http://www.hpcalc.org/hp48/pc/emulators/gxrom-k.zi p Revision R ROM dump of the HP 48GX calculator.

Enjoy!

I use the HP48gx emulator x48 as my system calculator. It is excellent, but has been removed from Debian testing! (WTF!?!? WHY!)

http://www.hpcalc.org/hp48/pc/emulators/ HP48 emulators!
http://www.hpcalc.org/hp48/pc/emulators/gxrom-k.zi p Revision R ROM dump of the HP 48GX calculator.

Enjoy!

Wow.

That's almost as good as reading the two-page spreads for the 48 in the old Educalc (of blessed memory) catalogs...

For a start, go to Hpcalc.org.
They have a range of 48SX and 48GX roms that HP allowed graciously to be downloaded.

HP uses the most out of there limited hardware.

Use there own home-made processor (for the graphing calcultors as of yet)

An incredible amount of assembler support for us coders

There (HP) OS is written in Saturn assembler while TI's OS for there 89 and 92+ is written in C

Need I list any others?

This is just a small list that I could think of off the top of my head. HP calculators are more geared towards higher educated individuals but, it can also be used for people in lower educated areas (it has a +, -, *, / sign doesn't it?). I remember there being an article here on Slashdot about which brand to buy. I would highly recommend an HP-48G or 49G. Since they will be able to use that for the rest of there lives, just about. If your buying calculators for games, the buy a TI-86. If you want the mathematical capabilities out of the calculator, buy an HP-49G.

I found out about this calculator a couple months ago and the price was ranged at about $250 in american dollars. If I wasn't already putting money aside for a video card, I would start putting money aside for this upcoming calculator. Something's got to give...

For the best HP calculator games/apps, try out hpcalc.org.

Have a nice day,

After a little searching on the web, I found a HP 49 FAQ that claimed 100!*100! should take 1.5 seconds on the HP49, and about 4 seconds on the TI-89. Now, I don't know if this is a realistic benchmark or not but I know that on my 49G it took over 4 seconds. After reading the FAQ some more, I found a section about the ON-D menu.

Suspecting that my 49G was defective, I ran the ROM and RAM tests. The FullROM (7) test yielded an error, but it turns out this is a bug in the software release I'm using. Then, I tried the FROM Format (9) option, which is listed in the FAQ as "Formats (defrags?) Flash ROM." Bingo! 100!*100! took less than a second, and overall it is operating as it did when I first bought it.

If you haven't tried the FROM format command, give it a try, it might speed things up again. ON-D, then 9. Oh, then I did a Q for reboot (old habits die hard).

After a little searching on the web, I found a HP 49 FAQ that claimed 100!*100! should take 1.5 seconds on the HP49, and about 4 seconds on the TI-89. Now, I don't know if this is a realistic benchmark or not but I know that on my 49G it took over 4 seconds. After reading the FAQ some more, I found a section about the ON-D menu.

Suspecting that my 49G was defective, I ran the ROM and RAM tests. The FullROM (7) test yielded an error, but it turns out this is a bug in the software release I'm using. Then, I tried the FROM Format (9) option, which is listed in the FAQ as "Formats (defrags?) Flash ROM." Bingo! 100!*100! took less than a second, and overall it is operating as it did when I first bought it.

If you haven't tried the FROM format command, give it a try, it might speed things up again. ON-D, then 9. Oh, then I did a Q for reboot (old habits die hard).

After a little searching on the web, I found a HP 49 FAQ that claimed 100!*100! should take 1.5 seconds on the HP49, and about 4 seconds on the TI-89. Now, I don't know if this is a realistic benchmark or not but I know that on my 49G it took over 4 seconds. After reading the FAQ some more, I found a section about the ON-D menu.

Suspecting that my 49G was defective, I ran the ROM and RAM tests. The FullROM (7) test yielded an error, but it turns out this is a bug in the software release I'm using. Then, I tried the FROM Format (9) option, which is listed in the FAQ as "Formats (defrags?) Flash ROM." Bingo! 100!*100! took less than a second, and overall it is operating as it did when I first bought it.

If you haven't tried the FROM format command, give it a try, it might speed things up again. ON-D, then 9. Oh, then I did a Q for reboot (old habits die hard).

Go to the HP48 Terminal Emulation Programs page and download a terminal emulator.

I think this is what you are looking for.

Yes, all you have to do is make a special adapter to go from the 4 pin serial port on the 48 to a regular D9, and from there to a modem! I've actually used it to log into a shell and check my email in pine, but for the best effect you have to set up the terminfo on the remote machine for the small screen and almost no support for VT-100 etc. Pretty simple stuff. A friend of mine actually spent a day on IRC that way. We couldn't tell except that he typed kinda slow.

is a good place to get a terminal emulator, and http://www.hpcalc.org/docs/faq/ 48faq-12.html#ss12.2 is a good place to start for information about the adapter you need.

PS: also note that it's been possible to do this (ie: the info has been available) on the HP48 for several years now. Those TIers are just playing catch-up!

Software such as this has existed for HP calculators since the days of the HP48SX.

I have used some of the terminal emulators for my HP48GX to dial up to *nix boxes to check mail, chat, and even code.

For more info on HP calculators and all the software that exists for them, see hpcalc.org

Oh, how I miss the days of walking around with an HP48GX w/ 1.25MB of RAM and an external 9600 baud modem...

- Malkthulhu

There is a terminal emulator at hpcalc.org that allows me to login to my system. I have actually used this a couple times when I managed to nuke my system with the 2.3.x series kernels. My keyboard/monitor were completely unresponsive and I don't have another system to telnet in from so I just loged in from my calculator to unmount filesystems and reboot.

I know this isn't the response you're looking for, but if you want a really powerful symbolic math package that's released under the GPL, take a look at Erable (by Bernard Parisse), for the HP48G line of calculators. It can do lots of things (especially certain types of symbolic integration) that even Maple can't touch, and at a fraction of the speed!

And the fact that it only runs on saturn processors is easily outweighed by the small footprint: only 100k! You couldn't find anything sexier than this if you had Tux in a g-string.

Have fun.

Try looking at hpcalc.org sometime. There's so much there for the HP, you'll hardly believe it. (Can the TI run civilization? Thought not.)

It's a jihad out there -- watch out.

Try looking at hpcalc.org sometime. There's so much there for the HP, you'll hardly believe it. (Can the TI run civilization? Thought not.)

It's a jihad out there -- watch out.

Try looking at sometime. There's so much there for the HP, you'll hardly believe it. (Can the TI run civilization? Thought not.)

It's a jihad out there -- watch out.

You could absolutely use an HP48G/GX (or even an S/SX...though I haven't tried). I've used my G to control my TV, my stereo, other people's TV's, etc. There is a remote control program available (try hpcalc.org) that has pre-programmed files for hundreds of different devices from different manufacturers, and it even includes a utility to learn codes from the original remote in case your device isn't supported.

btw, you can NOT use the HP49, as it has no IR port. :(

a minor note: hpcvbbs.corballis.hp.com was HPs server for programs when the corvallis area was still open. Since then, all calculator operations have been moved to australia, where Jean-Yves Avenard has taken over, and has produced this hunk of good-looking machinery.

Now, the best source of HP programs on the net is, definitively, www.hpcalc.org, which is speedy and well designed. The webmaster even plans to port as many 48G programs to the 49G when it comes out as he possibly can, so look forward to a large and quickly growing database of 49 programs when it is released.

Happy program hunting!

-gleam